The up-and-down B's, encouraged less than a week ago by a well-played sweep of a home-and-home series with the Sabres, dropped their second in a row on Thursday to the Oilers — a team that hadn't scored a regulation-time win over the Bruins since Oct. 17, 2000.

By Mike Loftus@MLoftus_Ledger

BOSTON — As the first half of their season ended on Thursday night at TD Garden, the Bruins were still in possession of a playoff berth.

How long they’ll keep it is another matter.

The up-and-down B’s, encouraged less than a week ago by a well-played sweep of a home-and-home series with the Sabres, dropped their second in a row on Thursday to the Oilers — a team that hadn’t scored a regulation-time win over the Bruins since Oct. 17, 2000.

Needing just one point to move at least temporarily into second place in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins got off to a terrible start.

Connor McDavid, the Oilers’ brilliant second-year center who entered the game tied for the NHL scoring lead with the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (both had 43 points), got a step on Zdeno Chara on a 2-on-2 rush, prompting rookie defense partner Brandon Carlo to leave his lane to support Chara.

McDavid slipped a pass through both defenders to Maroon, who tapped his 12th goal of the season past Tuukka Rask (21 saves) after just 1:08.

The Bruins woke right up, taking 10 of the next 11 shots, and tied it at 7:16.

Colin Miller scored the equalizer, his third of the season (most among Bruins defensemen), with a shot from the right point that Cam Talbot (33 saves) stopped with his blocker, but the puck bounced back past him after hitting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The Bruins, who outshot the Oilers 13-8 over the first 20 minutes, had an even bigger margin in the middle period (15-9) and took a lead, but couldn’t keep it.

Patrice Bergeron, who has struggled to produce through most of the first half, extended a long-awaited hot streak (four goals in seven games) with his eighth of the year at 10:43.

Linemate David Pastrnak took advantage of former Bruin Milan Lucic backing up in coverage on a 2-on-2 rush, pulling up on the left half-wall and snapping a pass to Bergeron in the slot.

Pastrnak, in his seventh game since missing two to have elbow surgery, picked up his first point since returning, while defenseman Kevan Miller’s secondary assist was his first point in 21 games this season.

The Oilers answered less than three minutes later, with Maroon’s second of the night. After the Brad Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line missed on several opportunities to clear the puck from the defensive zone, Maroon shook off defenseman Adam McQuaid’s coverage and slid a turnaround shot along the ice that went through Rask’s pads at 13:09.

The start of the third period was a near copy of the first.

Carlo, by now teamed with Kevan Miller, let Nugent-Hopkins get past him to the front of the net, and the rebound of one-time Bruins prospect Matt Benning’s shot hit Nugent-Hopkins and bounced past Rask after only 14 seconds to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead.

Maroon completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal at 9:02, after taking Marchand’s deflected breakout pass straight to the net.

David Krejci’s goal with 2:56 to play, scored late in a 5-on-3 manpower advantage gave the B’s a shot to earn a point, but they didn’t generate anything on the remainder of the power play.

Mike Loftus writes for the Patriot Ledger of GateHouse Media.

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